A Small Detour
by Ying Fa Xang
Summary: There really was no need for her to be there. But that didn't stop her from being there anyway... BRS/Mato, if you squint.


I don't know what I was thinking when I typed this, but it was 3 A.M. in the morning and I had (and still have) the worst insomnia. So.. yeahhh...

Title – Detour of the Heart

**Prompt –** Origami star

Time – Some time after the OVA

BRS/Mato… if you squint.

Disclaimer – Don't own nothin', obviously…

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><p>There really was no reason to have been there. No reason what so ever. After all the battle was over, she wasn't needed. At least not for the moment…<p>

Her other self and her friend were safe and happy. Back in their own world where they belonged, and her world was silent again. Or about as silent as it could be for a world based upon nothing but pain. Her purpose was fulfilled, so there really was no need for her to be there.

But that didn't stop her from being there anyway.

Mato could sleep like the dead, Rock mused from her seat on the edge of Mato's bed. She hadn't budged an inch since she'd forcefully opened up their star right in her other self's bedroom and sat down.

Mato lay on her side hugging a stuffed black sheep of some sort, and clutching a piece of folded blue paper. She looked quite peaceful.

It surprised Rock a little that a word like "peace" even existed in her vocabulary. In truth, a lot of things she'd disregarded before were suddenly becoming important to her. Mato had been the cause of that.

Her existence, history and memories prior to meeting her other self were blurred. Forgotten, and casted to the wind. What need was there to keep them? She had never truly understood what the word "live" meant until they'd met. When they had, there were suddenly new things emerging in Rocks mind, strange things… happy things?

New feelings arose within her she hadn't been aware even existed, once upon a time ago. Feelings that made her usually "stoic self" go from high to low without warning. And though she never showed these feelings physically, she had found herself more and more intrigued by them as of late.

And it shouldn't have been. Rock knew she wasn't supposed to know, and wasn't supposed **to want** to know. She was a merciless killer, dangerous, even deadly for someone like Mato. That was all she'd known since the moment her eyes opened.

But things were different now.

Rock removed the glove on her left hand, and ran her fingers through Mato's lose hair. She felt the softness of it and relaxed. She'd only ever known of hard things. Things that were sharp and jagged, that could hurt. That could kill…

Rock shifted her leg, and winced slightly when she felt her joints pop. How long had she been sitting there, she wasn't sure. It had been pitch black out when she first came, now the sun was about to come up. She knew she had to leave before she was noticed.

Yet, Rock made no motion to actually get up, finding her seat by Mato's side quite comfortable. She ran a finger along Mato's jaw line but pulled away when the girl sighed in her sleep. She shifted slightly and the paper she'd been holding in her sleep dropped free onto her blanket.

Rock picked it up and turned it around, inspecting it. It was dark blue in color, and folded in the shape of a star. She was surprised to see it had her name on it. Rock wanted to unfold it, but resisted.

She sighed silently and slipped the paper back into Mato's hand, and chose to ignore. It was better if she didn't leave any trace of herself. She was too cowardice to let Mato know she'd been here.

Coward was also a new word in Rock's vocabulary.

That had been why she'd come in the first place; to ask about it all. Where they came from, why she was feeling them, and what did they mean? If anyone had an answer it would be Mato. Yet now that she was here, and had been here for quite a while, she could not find it in herself to ask Mato these things.

It was cowardice, and she didn't know why. Mato was hardly a threat, not even an annoyance. One flick and Rock could have her arm broken; two flicks and she could be holding Mato's heart in her hand before the girl had time to blink. No reason to be scared at all… so why?

Mato's nostrils flared open and closed slightly, and though it is a simple, miniscule action, Rock couldn't find the words to describe why it made her jump a little. The girl's fingers flexed faintly and Rock suddenly couldn't move away fast enough.

Mato was waking up.

As Rock made a break for it, a hand reached out and grabs her arm and Rock was left frozen in place. She wouldn't turn around, **couldn't** turn around. She was nervous as hell, and her sword couldn't help her out of this one. She heard a rustle of sheets as Mato got out of bed.

Rock tried to yank her arm back, but Mato held strong, not letting go. Rock calmed down a little and reminded herself that this was Mato. There was no reason to be anxious. Of course, she reminds herself, there's no reason to be _here_ either…

Rock certainly wouldn't say a word, so it was up to Mato to initiate a conversation. And it was surprising, Mato Kuroi who was voted most talkative girl in her class couldn't think of thing to say. What could she say? "Thanks for helping me save my best friend?" "Hey glad you're here, I was just dreaming about you?" Or even a simple, "How the heck did you get in my room?"

None of those work. And Mato held her head down shamefully. She remembered the four-point origami star she folded before she fell asleep, and slipped it into Rocks hand before letting her go. Rock took a moment to look at it before meeting Mato's gaze.

Cerulean frost and Prussian blue met on a collision course, and after being so afraid to even look at each other, suddenly neither wanted to turn away.

It was difficult, all of it was, Mato thought. Mainly, because she was still tired and really couldn't fathom why Black Rock Shooter would be here anyhow and also because she couldn't tell what was on Rock's mind.

They were barely two feet away, yet it might as well have been two hundred.

Mato moved forward, and clumsily tripped on her own two feet. She was surprised when found herself not on the floor but in Black Rock Shooter's arms. It was a sloppy sort of hug, and Rock's grip was a bit tight. But it was a start.

So Mato straightened up, and hugged back. She shivered when she felt that Rock's body was ice cold. Rock shivered for the opposite, Mato's warmth lit a fire in her that felt like it was scorching her very core.

"I'm glad… I got to see you again." Mato murmured with a smile, pulling away. She turned around and walked back to her bed, and Rock is left standing there, wanting to pull the girl back to her body. Back **into** her body once more.

The completion she felt, in just that one embrace had peace rolling around her body in waves, and Rock admitted it was a hard thing to walk away from. Though she was grateful Mato decided not to overwhelm her with ridiculous questions she wouldn't know how to answer.

Mato climbed back into bed, and pretended to ignore it all. The way she knew Rock wanted her too, and Rock took the opportunity to leave before she could be stopped again. The star opened up in front of her and she walked through it without hesitating.

She vanished in silence like when she came, and Mato had to continue to ignore the longing in her heart. The desire to know more about her other self was stronger than it ever was, and it was sad. Because, it was really not for her to know.

She was only meant for the things of this world. Her world. She wasn't meant to know of the other side and what dwelt there, no matter how her curiosity enticed her to peek. It was probably the same for Rock too. What this had been was… what exactly had this been?

"A fluke..." Mato settled for as she curled back under the covers, clutching the black sheep Yomi had given her. Her eyes finally drifted closed, at the moment her alarm rung. She tossed her phone aside and settled for being late that morning.

She knew Yomi wouldn't mind, or at least she hadn't complained yet if she did mind…

Black Rock Shooter stepped back into her own world, and breathed out a silent sigh. The lingering feeling of something missing, still danced at the edge of her mind, but a little less than it had before she'd gone to see Mato.

The world she entered was dark and in pieces. The warmth she felt moments ago was replaced with cold again, and it was now Rock chose to remember the paper star Mato had given her.

She looked it over once more before unfolding it.

"Thanks for you." –Mato

Rock stood in one place for what felt like hours, staring at the simple message. There was no need to ponder the meaning, no need for deliberation. Mato's gratefulness had something like a tiny heart, beating in Rock's chest.

And for the first time ever, Black Rock Shooter felt like she found her purpose…

The side of her mouth twitched, and she smiled.

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><p><strong>AN –** _Le sigh…_ watching someone while they sleep is an overplayed storyline isn't it? But I consider it classic, and like I said. It was 3 freakin' A.M. in the morning.

Okay! Enough of that nonsense, time to get back to Crossing Over the World of Colors. Or for short, "C.O.W. Colors" _*snickers*_


End file.
